The term “temperature control system” in this connection is to be generally understood as a heating or cooling system. In the following, the conditions will be described primarily for a hot water heating system having a central circulating pump and a plurality of radiators (heating surfaces) serving as heat transfer devices. But the same considerations also apply to other systems with a flowing heating or cooling agent; any deviations relating to the technical implementation that are dependent on the type of system will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art.
In a hot water heating system, the heating water serving as the heating agent flows in accordance with the principle of least resistance. Without any special precautionary measures taken in the heating system, this path primarily leads through the radiators that are closest to the circulating pump; more remote radiators will not be sufficiently supplied. A widely used practice made use of as a remedy is to install a stronger pump and to increase the supply flow temperature. The consequences are a higher energy consumption, disturbing flow noises, sometimes overheated rooms, and a poor controllability of the system.
It is only by a hydraulic adjustment by means of which similar conditions are produced for all radiators that these problems can be solved with an optimum use of energy. The German Construction Contract Procedures (VOB) prescribe such a hydraulic balancing for every heating system (VOB/C DIN 18380). However, since the hydraulic balancing is difficult, it is, in practice, frequently carried out poorly or not at all. The design heating load, the system temperatures, the design of the heating surfaces, and the design volume flow for the radiators must be determined for each room. Then a pipe network calculation must be performed to establish the setting values of all control fittings. Finally, suitable fittings must be installed and appropriately set. An additional aggravating factor in old buildings is that the necessary data can often only be obtained by carrying out cost-intensive measurements on the existing heating system.
It is an object of the invention to make an improved setting of a temperature control system possible with justifiable expenditure.